Relate
by Skylark Evanson
Summary: The Boy Wonder stood beside Superboy for a moment, masked eyes watching the ocean and drinking in the beauty of it. Then his face went solemn. "Listen, I know what you're going through."


**A/N: This turned out _super_ long, no pun intended… Anyways, this came to me and I was like "Oh chizz, this is epic. Robin and Superboy awesomeness in the same story!" Yes. I love Robin and my sis is a Superboy addict (I'll explain what happened with Superboy today at McDonalds on my Facebook fanpage if you wanna check that out…) and for some reason I got this. So enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.**

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**Relate**

Superboy was sitting out on the jutting rock that was the back door of Mount Justice. It hung out over the rolling ocean's massive waves and the golden beach of perfection that lingered below. He had his legs curled up a little bit towards his chest and his elbows were resting upon his knee caps as his hands hung above his feet.

The clone couldn't help but stare out at the orange and pink sunset and wonder if all this incredible perfection around him was supposed to make him feel better or worse. He could have so many things going right for him in this one moment, but one thing would always capture his attention and drag the thoughts of the one flaw in his world back into focus. Superboy wished he could forget.

Sometimes it was a color that set his mind on the fast track to misery. Sometimes it was a metal. Occasionally, it was just his name in passing. The ebony-haired teen couldn't help it when something reminded him of the man who shared his exact DNA. The tiniest things could send his hormones into a raging frenzy. Living with the team and all of the Justice League superheroes was enough to set Superboy on the emotional roller coaster that almost every teenager had to ride due to high school. Being with the Justice League was Superboy's version of high school.

He just wanted to be accepted. Yeah, that was like high school. He just wanted to know that someone was there looking out for him and that no one was going to stab him in the back. Superboy just wanted someone to trust. He wanted someone he could relate to. That was all. He could've had all the money in the world and could've been more popular than Superman himself, but he wouldn't be satisfied. All he wanted was to be accepted by the man he looked up to as a mentor and a father.

His hearing picked up the sound of footsteps behind him coming from behind the closed door that sealed Mount Justice and functioned as a rear exit that opened up to the ocean that he now stared at. The gentle rush of the water usually lulled him down from his rage and brought him down out of his tantrums. Superboy didn't look over his shoulder. He didn't have to. The clone already knew who was coming by the sound of the heavy boots.

"Megan's looking for you," said Robin, stepping out into the rose sunlight that was flooding over the mountain's peak from where the giant yellow orb was beginning to vanish beneath the line that created the horizon. "She thought you ran away for a while there."

No response came from the clone. Superboy was silent. His azure gaze stayed fixated on the huge body of water that sprawled out ahead of him.

Robin wasn't one to be rude, but he knew that the clone wouldn't hurt him if he did pry a bit. The younger raven-haired teen had never been afraid to speak his mind. It was only in front of Batman that he watched his words wisely. "Still moping over the whole Superman rejection thing?"

Superboy tensed. It wasn't hard to notice. All of his muscles went rigid and the tendons in his neck were clearly visible.

A tiny grin touched Robin's features as he moved out towards where Superboy sat. He let the massive door close behind him. The sound echoed loudly. The Boy Wonder stood beside Superboy for a moment, masked eyes watching the ocean and drinking in the beauty of it. Then his face went solemn. "Listen, I know what you're going through."

"No you don't," said Superboy firmly, hands clenching to fists. His knuckles were turning as white as fresh snow kissing the green ground. "You have no idea." The clone's eyes blazed with fury at the thought of getting advice from someone younger than him, let alone someone who wasn't even a metahuman like he was.

Small sigh escaping from his thin lips, Robin crouched down so that he was at Superboy's level. "I do know. I've been through it. For you, it's a midlife crisis. For me, it kind of affected everything. Little different here and there and definitely different circumstances, but I know, Supes. I get how confused you are." The young teen's gaze stayed on the orange sun that kept sliding into the ocean, disappearing piece by piece. Robin continued. "You just want someone to want you, right? You just need to know that you can have somewhere to call home and to have someone to trust with your life."

Anger was still flaring in Superboy's veins. He wanted to hit Robin. The boy had no idea what he was talking about. He wasn't as smart as he pretended to be; that was how Superboy saw it at least. "You don't-"

"I do know. Now quiet. I'm trying to make this a heart to heart moment, you lug head." Robin smiled faintly, but it faded as fast as it had come. "You don't really know who I am behind the mask and at this exact moment, I would love to tell you because then I could explain everything better. But I can't. I promised on my Bat Scout Honor."

This even brought a small grin to Superboy's face. But he still wanted to get his fist to connect to Robin's jaw. The clone knew that Robin didn't know what he was talking about. The teen hormones were just killer on the Boy of Steel.

"I kind of lost everything I had one day. I was probably eight and my whole world just totally crumbled. No one to go to, didn't know where I was going to live, didn't know if I was even going to survive." Robin kept his voice serious and he tried to make himself sound almost optimistic. "And Batman picked me up. For no real reason. He just did. Took me under his wing, no pun intended."

Another soft smile played across Superboy's features. Sometimes Robin did know exactly what to say.

"And I know that sounds fine and dandy and all, especially since you can see how I'm turning out, but Bats and I didn't always get along the best." Robin finally decided to stop crouching like a cat and actually sat down, tucking his knees up close to his chest.

"Really?"

Robin was glad to hear that he had the clone's attention. He liked knowing that maybe his story really could turn heads one day once the secret was out on who the original Boy Wonder really was. "Yeah. He's dark and brooding even around me. It was worse when I used to be an immature kid."

Superboy scoffed. "Used to be?" he questioned, cerulean orbs tearing from the ocean to find his friend sitting beside him.

A single laugh split the air from Robin and he reached one arm out and punched the Boy of Steel's shoulder playfully. He knew it wouldn't hurt the sixteen-year-old, but he meant it in almost a brotherly way.

"I'm only saying," defended Superboy gently, holding one hand up as if in surrender. He knew that he had friends and that they were part of the perfect that surrounded him. And having those perfect friends only made the pain of knowing Superman's negligence of his existence even harder for the clone to bear.

Just one quieter snicker of laughter escaped Robin before he let himself focus again. "Anyways, Batman was never a people person and he just took me in for no reason. And if you knew where I'm from and what I've seen, you'd understand why I was suspicious of him at first. I mean, what kind of guy just says 'Come home with me and I'll take care of you'? No one does. Not for guys like me." Robin remembered the day as a dark one. He remembered all the fear and the hate and everything that had made him want to be involved in that same tragedy just so he didn't have to live through the pain of knowing it had happened. "And I didn't really trust Bats for a while because we didn't talk much, we saw each other maybe twice a day until I became Robin, and he doesn't exactly give off that loving guardian vibe or anything."

"You and Batman had a rough time?" asked Superboy, surprised to hear this. He knew that Kid Flash was tight with his mentor because they were family. He also knew that Miss Martian was close with her teacher because he was her relative as well. Aqualad had a strong relationship with the king of Atlantis because of a moment where the apprentice had saved Aquaman. And that had built that nice and strong. Artemis and Green Arrow were family as well although their bond was not nearly as strong as the others. The Dynamic Duo seemed to be linked in all aspects of life. Same thoughts, same ideas, finishing each other's sentences. It was how they were. Superboy never would've guessed that it started out any way different than that.

"We still do sometimes," confessed Robin. "He's not exactly amazing when it comes to social skills that involve one-on-one time and all that. He knows how to take care of me alright, but I know he's not exactly the greatest. We kind of accept each other's flaws. It's what you have to do. Compromise."

The clone's eyes followed the sun as only one third of the massive golden globe was still suspended in the air. "I never would've guessed."

"Ask any Justice Leaguer. Batman and I fight more than we should, too. I like doing things one way and he likes things a different way. Exact same thing, but completely different views on it." Robin shrugged silently, his shoulders rising and falling. "It's just stuff you gotta deal with. Bats and I deal with our stuff and you're going to have sort things out with Superman eventually."

"He wants to ignore me," snorted Superboy, the fury returning to his body. "He doesn't care."

"I had the same thought back when I first met Batman. But again, Bats just didn't know how to deal with an eight-year-old with some trauma. Superman probably just doesn't know how to deal with you quite yet." Robin shifted so that one of his hands was behind him. Then the Boy Wonder pushed himself up off the ground so that he was standing beside his friend again. "He'll come around. They always do." Robin stuck his hands in his pockets and watched as the final one fifth of the massive sun continued to drift below the horizon.

The voice of Superboy made him pause for a moment. "Thank you."

The smallest smile danced across Robin's now relaxed fast. "No problem." He touched the keypad to open the doorway back into the massive mountain. "Just make sure you give Superman a chance." He began to step back inside the hideout that served as the team's headquarters. "And don't forget to come inside before Miss M starts thinking you're dead." And with that, the protégé of Batman disappeared into the darkness that consumed his lithe little body.

For some reason, Superboy felt like he had finally found that person he could trust. He finally found someone he could relate to.

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**A/N: I'm happy with it. Anyways, go to my Facebook fanpage to read what happened at McDonalds with the Superboy incident and don't forget to review!**

**~Sky**


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